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Dutch volleyball player Steven van de Velde on Paris Olympics team 8 years after child rape conviction
The Hague, Netherlands — A Dutch beach volleyball player convicted and imprisoned eight years ago for raping an underage girl in Britain has qualified for the Paris Olympics. Steven van de Velde and partner Matthew Immers were one of two men’s teams from the Netherlands that qualified for the beach volleyball competition at the Paris Games, which open on July 26 in the French capital.
Most beach pairs qualify for the 24-team Olympic field by earning points on the international tour; Van de Velde and Immers were 11th on the points list.
“I understand that in the run-up to the biggest sporting event in the world, this can attract the attention of international media,” Van de Velde said in a statement posted on the website of the Netherlands Volleyball Federation. “I cannot reverse it, so I will have to bear the consequences. It has been the biggest mistake of my life.”
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Van de Velde was sentenced to four years in prison in Britain after being convicted in 2016 of raping a 12-year-old girl he got to know on Facebook, according to CBS News’ partner network BBC News. He was transferred back to the Netherlands under a treaty between the countries and allowed to serve his sentence there, but was released after 12 months.
The BBC said that after communicating with the girl online, Van de Velde traveled from Amsterdam to England to meet her in 2014. He was convicted of three counts of raping a minor two years later, and was placed on a permanent sex offenders registry in the U.K.
“After his release, Van de Velde sought and received professional counseling. He has demonstrated to those around him — privately and professionally — self-insight and reflection,” the federation said.
It added that both the federation and the Netherlands Olympic Committee “rely on the opinions of experts who consider the chance of recidivism nil.”
The Dutch Olympic committee said Van de Velde, now 29, met the conditions required to return after a conviction and resumed his career in 2017 “after an intensive professionally supervised process.”
“Van de Velde now meets all the qualification requirements for the Olympic Games and is therefore part of the team,” the committee said.
The international volleyball federation said it “recognizes that this is a highly sensitive matter” but said team selection is the responsibility of the national Olympic committee “while respecting the eligibility criteria.”
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Election 2024 live updates amid neck-and-neck polls as Harris and Trump make push in battleground states
Supreme Court denies GOP request to block counting of certain provisional ballots in battleground Pennsylvania
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday declined to freeze a decision from Pennsylvania’s highest court that required election officials to count provisional ballots cast by people whose mail ballots are invalid because they lacked mandatory secrecy envelopes.
The order from the justices means that election officials in the key battleground state must tally provisional ballots submitted on Election Day by voters who returned defective mail ballots, either because they didn’t include secrecy envelopes or failed to sign or date the outer envelope.
Trump holds final Wisconsin rally of campaign
KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images
Donald Trump held his final Wisconsin rally of the 2024 campaign Friday night, returning to Fiserv Forum, in Milwaukee, the site of the Republican convention, to deliver his closing message to the Badger State. In 2016, he narrowly won Wisconsin but he lost the state’s 10 electoral votes to Joe Biden in 2020.
The rally was plagued by microphone problems. People in the upper sections in the back of the arena couldn’t hear Trump, and he expressed frustration with the technical issues.
“I’m seething. I’m working my ass off with a stupid mic,” Trump said.
He then made crude gestures toward the mic stand, complaining it was too low. He held the microphone for the rest of the rally but complained about how heavy it was several times. He also threatened not to pay the contractor.
“Do you want to see me knock the hell out of people backstage?” Trump asked. “I don’t ask for much. The only thing I ask for is a good mic. And this is the second time today that this happened.”
He loosely blamed campaign manager Susie Wiles for the microphone issue.
By Olivia Rinaldi and Katrina Kaufman
Harris and Trump both rally in Milwaukee area Friday night
Andrew Harnik / Getty Images
Both Donald Trump Trump and Kamala Harris campaigned in the Milwaukee area Friday night, going into the final weekend of the 2024 campaign. Harris didn’t deviate much from her standard stump speech in West Allis, Michigan, a Milwaukee suburb of Milwaukee. She urged people to vote who haven’t yet cast their ballots.
“No judgment, no judgment at all — but do get to it,” Harris said, before reviewing the list of her campaign promises and litany of grievances against Trump.
Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images
Cardi B, who spoke shortly before Harris, told the crowd she didn’t intend to vote this year, but “Kamala Harris changed my mind.”
She called Trump a “bully” and said, “I can’t stand a bully, but just like Kamala, I stand up to one.” Cardi B repeatedly said she was nervous about speaking at the rally. Women, she said, have to work 10 times harder than men “and still, people question us.”
Leslie Reeves and Chris Smith were shot during their first date. Only Smith survived. A look at how he defied the odds to make a remarkable recovery.
The scene of the crime
Illinois State Police
On the night before Thanksgiving 2021, Smith went on a first date with a woman named Leslie Reeves. The morning after, first responders found Smith in his Farmersville, Illinois, home with a bullet lodged in his brain. Reeves was dead.
Shooting victim in a coma
Chris Smith
EMTs rushed Smith to a hospital where he underwent brain surgery and was placed in a medically induced coma.
A bullet lodged in his brain
Chris Smith
Fragments of the bullet remained in Smith’s brain. His doctors say that to retrieve the bullet could risk causing further damage.
Family support
Chris Smith
Smith’s mother, Sharon Costanza, and sister, Ashli Holcomb, sat by his side during his recovery. Doctors told them chances were very low that Smith would return to his previous level of functioning.
No memory
CBS News
In January 2022, Smith woke from his coma and asked where he was and what had happened. He remembered nothing from the night of the shooting. He had no memory of his date with Reeves, even though he’d been talking on the phone and messaging with her two weeks before the shooting.
A poor prognosis
CBS News
Due to Smith’s injuries, his neurosurgeon, Dr. Victor Williams, told Smith he likely would not be able to walk again. Williams and his team were dedicated to doing everything they could to aid Chris’ recovery.
A life forever changed
CBS News
Smith’s left leg is partially paralyzed from his hip to his knee. From his knee to his toes, he is completely paralyzed.After he left the hospital, he had to move back in with his mother.
Regaining his strength
CBS News
Most days, Smith goes to the gym and works on regaining his strength so that someday he’ll be able to walk without assistance.
A survivor
Chris Smith
Smith says he is determined to hold on tight to his new lease on life. He is back singing with his rock band. And he proposed to his fianceé, Michelle Albrecht.
New aspirations
CBS News
‘Smith hopes to become a motivational speaker and has his own website.
A miracle recovery
CBS News
Smith’s mother says his recovery is nothing short of a miracle.
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